'A-Am I alive?' The girl's first clear thought since she had gone unconscious. Everything was dark, even when she opened her eyes. Her limbs were bound to her sides by metal chains. She seemed to be being dragged somewhere, as she felt her body being moved against stone. However, she didn't hear regular foot steps, they sounded like...paws? At first, she couldn't fathom why animals would be dragging her anywhere, but then memories came flooding back to her.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡB4cGf10f0K

Sounds of people screaming coming from every direction. Her father telling her to hide down in his lab for reasons he refused to explain. Then, unsettling silence. She had pressed her ear to the door to try to hear something, anything. But, an impact hit her, the door must have flew off the handles, and knocked her out. From what she could gather from the jumbled memories, the Corrupted Queen had invaded her hometown of Concordia. But, that left one question, why was she kept alive? She didn't feel harmed in any way, expect for the cold chains leaving imprints in her skin. She was snapped out of her thoughts when she was roughly flung to the ground, followed by the sound of heavy breathing.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡJgrO9dRoZk

"Very good, you may exit." said another voice, confident and dominant.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡm6HyMXAMcB

She heard the clack of heels approach her as the paw steps faded away. The darkness was lifted from her eyes, and she was frozen, as he saw the pupil-less eyes of the queen gazing down at her. The queen discarded the bag that had been placed over the girl's head, and grabbed the chains she was bound in. She then lifted the girl by the chains, bringing her up to match the queen's eight foot height. This was not a good thing for the girl's fear of heights.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡwWRYK1cBqb

"What a pretty face you have, you're a bit too skinny to feed on, but you'll make for an excellent first kill." the queen noted, her mouth splitting her face with a wide grin.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡWEVGumAYF5

She yelped in pain as he was dropped back on the ground. Her ginger hair falling in front of her face as she laid there, not having the will to get up, not having the strength to ask questions. The queen's footsteps faded as she walked away, and the girl found herself going in and out of consciousness again.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡB1biAXgbJt

As commanded, the prince followed his mother to her throne room. He assumed tonight was the night she expected him to do 'what he was destined to', as she so often put it. No matter how much he attempted to prepare himself for the night, he wasn't prepared for who his target would be. He expected an adult at the very least, not a girl around his own age. The girl was kept from leaving by being bound by rope, and surrounded on all sides by swift and poisonous panther-snake corrupts. He approached her slowly, his feet moving to prepare for his brutal task, while his brain was elsewhere.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡMgpDf9ErL4

He was surprised to see that her grey eyes weren't narrowed with hate, or even widened with fear. They showed what looked like a mix of pity and shock. Shock of seeing another human here? He wondered if she would feel the same sympathy once he was forced to slash his claws over her face. He unsheathed his claws, observing them as if for the first time. He tried to distract himself by focusing only on the shine they gave off, with tips so sharp he didn't doubt they could cut diamond. All it would take was a rapid strike through her. Would it be easier if he closed his eyes?copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡCHIyndUYcA

"Are you going to kill it or let it die of old age, my dear?" the queen asked as she scowled, tapping her own claws impatiently against her throne.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OBe7ccnnW

"No, mother, I promise. I'm done stalling." The prince brings his claw up. "Time to take action for once!"copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ9cfNrprSa

He grins as he brings it down. It slices through the rope restrictions, leaving the confused and stunned girl to simply slip them off. The corrupts around her pounced. He quickly grabbed one by their serpentine neck, heaving it head-first into a wall. The others switched their attention to him, leaping towards him. Two latched on to his arms, knocking him to the ground. He took a deep breath, before letting out a screech worthy of a banshee, making one of the demonic beasts recoil in pain. He dug his free claw deep into the others throat, forcing it to let go of his arm. He looked back over to the girl, who was being pinned by the last one, her face frozen in fear.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡwvSf3gsYeF

He ran over to help her, throwing a sharp kick to the creature's side. It slid across the floor, giving the prince time to pick up the girl and unfurl his wings. He winced upon doing so, suddenly activating his wings still put strain on his back. He took flight, one flap instantly lifted the two fifteen feet off the ground. Busting through the double doors of the room, he swiftly flew through the labyrinth of paths, trying to keep focused on keeping a strong hold of the girl while staying in flight. Before long, he heard the sound of wings flapping behind him, matching his own.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡyit9xAmJXJ

He looked back, expecting to see a griffin corrupt or something of the like. Instead, it was his own mother. He swore under his breath, beating his wings harder. He increased his speed, taking all the corners he could, rather they led to an exit or not, as the human clung to him for dear life. The halls started to blur past him, almost too fast for him to realize where he was going. He looked back again, his mother had stopped, instead flapping her wings in place. She seemed to be trying to focus her magic, in order to throw a spell at them. He used this as his chance to get an even further lead in front of her, before she could perform the spell.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡFOTR3Gjt8c

He saw the wave of magic she had cast whisk right by the him. He was confused at first, until the wave expanded, and reformed into a solid purple wall. His momentum had been too high for him to react in time. He couldn't stop himself, and he slammed right into the wall, both him and the girl fell to the ground. He tried to get his bearings again, before the queen caught up to them, but it was too late. She grabbed the two of them by the arm, her expression was of nothing but pure rage.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡEEIwULNnJ2

"Betrayal!" She spat. "Caused by my own heir, none the less! Acantha believed you to be a failure, but I never thought you'd do something like this to your own mother."copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2hkwrR6NB4

Dropping the two to the ground, she gathered up her energy to perform another spell. Her hand started to glow purple, as well as her eyes, and with it, she traced a circle in the air. She shoved the energy towards the wall she created, the circle expanding into a large vortex, thus completing what the two part spell was meant to create. A portal to any location she wished, the prince's eyes widened as he realized exactly where that place would be.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡxgSr8W7sqf

"M-Mother, you wouldn't!" he said.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡE4UmAO8ocS

She grinned. "For such a disobedient bastard like you? I most certainly would. You wish to protect the human girl so much, you may protect her for the rest of your miserable lives for all I care! Though, it's not as bad as it sounds. Where you're going, you won't live long."copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeaKLBCRpd

"W-Where are we going?" the girl asked.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡWXuPoCMw4c

"The place where all disappointing, misbehaving members of the Corrupted go, you insect-brained imbecile." the queen turned towards the portal, raising her voice to a powerful, demanding volume. "CORRUPT FOREST."copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡMJhH5RwegI

The portal showed that it understood the command loud and clear, by flashing a bright light, before the pure purple image changed to one of a dark, mysterious, ironically beautiful forest. The Corrupted Queen let go of the two of them, letting them fall to the floor again. The portal's vortex created a gravitational pull, that sucked the two towards it, the queen not being affected. The prince clung on to the girl's hand, as his other held onto the edge of the portal.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6GXgrIS3Ai

"This isn't right! I'll make you pay for this cruelty, mother!" he called out.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡhwgLmEo8bs

The queen's grin simply widened. She left him a few final words, before slipping his fingers off the edge one by one, allowing the halfling prince and the human girl to completely enter into the new area.copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡlXbCEhuawK

"Your mother is dead, and now you shall die with her."copyright protection196ＰＥＮＡＮＡSCrPTSxMW7